Bolt Hard To Close

I have an older model 700ADL I bought several years ago and have only shot a box of ammo through when I bought it. So I have been loading up 30-06 ammo to shoot out of it and a new ruger 77 I just bought so I can go deer hunting with them. All my ammo, factory and reloads work fine through the ruger. But the remington is giving me fits. It is very hard to close the bolt on about half of the ammo. No matter if its remington factory stuff or reloaded ammo. All the rims are under the .473 spec. nothing oversized.

I have taken the bolt apart and made sure everything is clean and lubed. The chamber has been scrubbed out with a bronze brush and is clean. I have about decided that my problem is with the extractor. I don't know if it has brass shavings under it making it hard to compress so it snaps over the rim or what. Its the only part of the bolt that I haven't taken apart. Its a rivited extractor and it doesn't seem to want to come out. I am afraid to force it because I may damage it. Any ideas? I am stumped.

Thanks RC I will try marking the cases and see if they get a shiny spot. I actually ground a little off the bottom of my sizing die to see if over sizing them would make a difference. It didn't. And I did blow out the bolt face with my air nozzle. (I blew out everything with an air nozzle) That didn't help either. Its not often I have a problem I can't repair but this one has me befuddled.

The bolt closes fine with no case in it. But with some rounds its a bear. Once the case rim is under the extractor its closes fine. Thats why I am pretty sure its the extractor thats the problem. My palm is sore from banging the bolt closed.

Hey lags I haven't fired the ruger yet. I just got it about a month ago and have been too busy to shoot it. But you are correct. The ruger feels like it has a much looser chamber than the remington. And I did full length size the brass. And even new unfired remington factory loads are hard to chamber.

I marked one of the hard fitting rounds and chambered it. There are no marks at all on the shoulder. So I don't think its an under sized chamber or oversized round.

Has anyone removed the extractor on their gun? If you do can it be reused?

I can push the extrator into the recess with no problem using a punch. So I really don't think there is dirt under it. I am stll scratching my head over this.

The bolt feels normal till you get to that last fraction of an inch that lets the bolt go fully forward so you can turn the bolt handle down. Thats where the bind is.

Thanks RC. I already lubed the bolt locking lugs with that military grease that comes in those cute little tubs with the yellow screw on lids.

Thats sorta what I thought on the extractor. I would send the gun back to remington before I did that. I can do lots of the needed repairs but I know where to draw the line. I will try taking the striker out and closing the bolt. Thats a good idea.

And thanks for the links. Funny thing is is that I just got my new Brownells catalog in the mail today and was looking at the 700 parts before I came in to check this thread. For less than the price of the extractor kit and the anvil I could return the rifle to remington and the work would be done correctly.

I took the striker out and the problem is still the same. I also relubed the lugs with high temp wheel bearing grease. That ought to stay put. so it seems that the problem is at the bolt face. I may take the gun to a local store and have their gunsmith look at it.

Meanwhile I will get the ruger sighted in and get ready for a deer hunt.

RC I guess we were posting at the same time. And yes, there were lots of little brass shavings in the bolt face. Thats what led me to think the extractor might be the problem.

I worked some tetra gun oil under the extractor and it didn't make any difference. I can take a punch and push the extractor into its recess so I don't think there is anything under it.

450Gary I posted earlier that it does this with factory ammo also. I checked everything I could think of before I posted this thread. But I am always open to suggestions.

My normal sizing procedure on all hunting ammo is to full length size the brass. I rarely ever just neck size my loads. I figure if the loads will stay in a 2" group thats more than good enough for the type of hunting I like to do. I like to get close. I'm not a sniper hunter.

RC our minds are running on the same track today. I was just looking at the bolt and wondering if I could do any good polishing the extractor with one of the cratex wheels I have for my dremel tool. I'm gonna try that next. Thanks for the tip.

Allright. I did the cratex wheel polish and it made a huge difference. Thanks RC for suggesting this. I thought of it too but you suggesting also was what made up my mind to try it. I don't like removing any metal if there is a way around it. But in this case it worked. So thanks.

When you looked at the extractor there was a part of the ring at the top of the bolt where it was just a fraction past the bolt recess. I think that may have been where the catch came from. Now it has a nice smooth edge so the rims can slip in. I am done with this project.

Thanks everybody.

I have been reading the post you folks posted and just want to add a couple of things.

My dad owned a machine shop all my young life till I was about 26. Then he sold it and retired. I worked in my dads shop from the time I was 10 years old. Thats correct, I was running a tapping machine at 10 years of age. Then lathes, mills and all the machines in my dads shop including set up on the machines in the shop. I have always been mechanicaly inclined. Ther isn't much I can't take apart and correctly put back together. And I have a garage full of tools and know how to use them. I have done house repairs and remodeling since about 1980. At one point I had 5 phone book adds for house repair service. I am good with my hands.

And what I am curious about is the name RCMODEL. I am also a rc modeler. I build and fly rc aircraft. I have designed about 12 aircraft myself. A couple got into model magazines. I hope RC is a fellow flyer. I would love to share some sky with him.

And its hard to diagnose a gun problem on the net with just written descriptions. So you folks helped me by suggesting what I suspected. I am hesitant about removing metal until I am satisfied thats the right thing to do. Having someone else confirm what you are thinking is a great comfort.